• National Guard deployed as Ferguson protests escalate further

    Aug 17

    The governor of Missouri State has deployed the National Guard to Ferguson, after the suburb’s worst night of violence since the shooting of black teenager Michael Brown by a white policeman.

    On Saturday the Governor Jay Nixon declared a curfew, but protestors have been defying the order and continued to march in the area, which resulted in clashes with police.

  • Refugee bus attacked in Ukraine, boths sides accuse each other
    The Ukrainian government and pro-separatist rebels accused each other of hitting a bus carrying refugees in eastern Ukraine on Monday with rocket fire.
  • Kenyan Anti-Terror police carried out killings and disappearances – HRW
    Human Rights Watch said that Kenya's Anti Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) has been involved in summary executions and enforced disappearances, calling on international donors to suspend their support to the security forces behind the human rights violations.

    In a statement released on Monday, the non-governmental organisation stated that their research had documented at least 10 cases of extra-judicial murders, 10 cases of disappearances and 11 cases of mistreatment of suspects since 2011, all with evidence of involvement from the country's counter-terrorism unit.

    Leslie Lefkow, HRW's deputy Africa director, said,
    “Kenyan counterterrorism forces appear to be killing and disappearing people right under the noses of top government officials, major embassies, and the United Nations.. This horrendous conduct does not protect Kenyans from terrorism – it simply undermines the rule of law.”
  • Pope to mark Armenian genocide centennial with mass
    Pope Francis is to celebrate Mass on 12 April 2015 to mark 100 years since the Armenian genocide.
  • IS militants accused of killing hundreds, UK PM urges more action
    The British Prime Minister David Cameron urged greater action to stop the advance of Islamic State (IS) militants, as reports emerge of the massacre of hundreds in Iraq and Syria.

    Writing in The Sunday Telegraph Cameron said the UK will have to use its "military prowess" to defeat the militants, warning that if world turned a blind eye the militants would create a "terrorist state" on Mediterranean shores.

    “The creation of an extremist caliphate in the heart of Iraq and extending into Syria is not a problem miles away from home. Nor is it a problem that should be defined by a war 10 years ago. It is our concern here and now,” he wrote.

  • Israel Palestine peace-talks resume as end of ceasefire looms
    Israel will not agree to any long-term ceasefire unless its security needs are met, said the Israeli Prime Minister as it resumed peace-talks with Hamas on Sunday.
  • 85 Nigerians ‘rescued from Boko Haram’ by Chad

    Reports indicate that 85 Nigerians, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram earlier this week, have been rescued by Chadian troops.

    An unnamed senior Nigerian security official told AFP that the troops intercepted a convoy with gunmen and the villagers during a routine check, but neither Nigeria nor Chad have confirmed the rescue.

  • IS control of Mosul dam broken by Peshmerga

    Islamic State’s hold on Iraq’s largest dam has been broken by Kurdish forces, who are now in near complete control of the dam.

    Kurdish troops launched the operation to recapture the Mosul dam on Sunday morning, with the support of US air strikes. The US said its air strikes hit 19 IS vehicles and a checkpoint around the dam on Sunday.

  • Two UN peacekeepers killed in Mali attack

    Two Burkinabe UN peackeepers were killed and seven wounded in a suicide attack on a UN base in the north of Mali.

    The attacker drove a pickup laden with explosives into the base in Ber. It is unclear who was behind the attack, which was condemned by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

  • US conducts drone strikes in Iraq as Canada, EU pledge arms to Kurds
    The United States carried out two drone strikes in Iraq, destroying two Islamic State vehicles, amid reports of 80 Yazidi men being killed by IS fighters.

    "We have information from multiple sources, in the region and through intelligence, that [on Friday] afternoon, a convoy of [Islamic State] armed men entered this village," senior Iraqi official Hoshyar Zebari told AFP.

    "They committed a massacre against the people," he said, adding, "Around 80 of them have been killed."

    On Friday the UN Security Council unanimously approved sanctions on those found to funding and supporting IS militants, including the IS spokesperson who now faces travel bans and asset freezes.

    Meanwhile European Union Foreign Ministers supported efforts by member states to supply arms to Kurdish forces, welcoming US air strikes in the region.

  • Ukraine destroys Russian military vehicles
     The Ukrainian President announced that the Ukraine’s forces had destroyed a group of Russian military vehicles on Ukrainian territory, reports the Washington Post.

    Petro Poroshenko confirmed to the British Prime Minister that the reports were true.
  • French journalists arrested in Papua

    Two French journalists were arrested in West Paupa by Indonesian police last week.

    Police charged that the men had engaged in journalistic activities on their tourist visa, without obtaining a journalist visa.

    Papua province police spokesman Sulistyo Pudjo Hartono said the two documentary filmmakers from German-French channel Arte, could face up to five years in prison and a 500 million rupiah ($42,000) fine, reported France24.

    Thomas Dandois, 40, and Valentine Bourrat, 29, were reporting on the separatist movement in the province of West Papua.

  • State of emergency declared by Missouri governor

    The Governor of Missouri has declared a local state of emergency and imposed a curfew on Ferguson, hit by riots after the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by police.

    Speaking at a press conference, Governor Jay Nixon said that the curfew would be in place from midnight until 5am.

  • Salmond blasts Australian PM over ‘ludicrous’ comments on Scottish Independence

    Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond has blasted Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott over his comments on the Scottish independence campaign, calling them “ludicrous” and “bewildering”.

  • UK ready to arm Kurdish forces
    The UK is prepared to supply arms to Kurdish forces fighting against Islamic State fighters in Iraq, if requested to do so by the Kurdish leadership, Downing Street said on Thursday.

    The decision was made following an emergency COBRA meeting including the Prime Minister David Cameron, the Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond, the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, and the International Development Secretary, Justine Greening.

    The Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the coalition partner, Liberal Democrats, also joined the meeting via secure link, The Times reported.

    The Foreign Secretary is expected to inform EU colleagues about the decision later today.

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